CapeCoaler wrote:Files corrupted, permisions not quite right are what slow the Mac down. Disk Warrior is what you need to fix the slow Mac.http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/ You need the disk, boot from it, to fix the sick Mac.Well that and RAM.

Thanks, It's my daughters and my wife uses it as well, the other PC isn't good enough I guess. I will pass that information along as I have enough things to keep watch over, I'll let them deal with this one. I have used it briefly it's different but not impossible to figure out. But I just say "I don't know anything about Macs"!

I defragged earlier today, although not with the disk defragmenter built into Windows. I dislike system tools from Microsoft.I get aggravated when I end up sitting here listening to the HD run and nothing is happening. I don't have the patience, a quick toss of the PC out the window has been considered more then once.

Seems things started getting screwed up after I upgraded from Lavasoft AdAware SE Plus to AdAware 2008 Plus, Lavasoft no longer offered updated definitions for the SE version. I still can't get the new version to run a scan, when I open the program it takes 5 minutes or so to start, hogs the CPU.

Oh sure, now that I am talking about it this PC is suddenly "Speedy Delivery". Since I have an inherent distrust of anything that I cannot take apart and actually see things moving inside and figure out how it works, I always think there is some program running stealth in my PC that is stealing all my private info and distributing it to some hacker in Bolivia.

Boot from the DVD/cds. Follow the simple instructions.Kick windows to the curb forever.no viruses. no ad rubbish. automatic updates all the time for free.If all you need is internet browsing, office program, and a million other applications, and quake open arena for games, you will be all set.

I have windows PC. It is not allowed online, EVER.All my browsing is thru firefox on fedora.

Norton is a real dog on my machine.It actuall a real pain to get it all deleted from your machine but it can be done. I have installed AVG and love it. Made all the difference in the world as far as speed.Another trick I've gotten from our IT guys is to turn off automatic update for windows in the control panel. This frees up the cpu from checking for updates constantly. I do my scans and AVG update once a week when done I turn on updates then restart the system then go do something for a while come back 15 minutes later and the system has found updates that need to be installed. Click to have it do the install. When that's done I go back and turn it off again. I only do this once a month or so.It really helps the speed also. John

With Lava soft adware , make sure "update" at start up is off, open the program and update it manually then, I had the same problem, Its still slow but much faster than letting it update automatically. Also try the smart scan first, this will find any thing really nasty first, if you get a bunch right away stop the scan and delete the viruses then start the scan again this will keep it from getting locked up. Also make sure before you start delete all your "cookies" and "temp. internet file"s in "control panel" , "internet options"

I had it set to update at start up with the old version, it was slow but bearable. This version takes forever. I have no tolerance for these programs that are supposed to "protect" my PC and slow it down so much that watching cement dry starts to become interesting. I also have no patience for these automatic updates that slow everything down, but if I set them to wait until I manually check I will always forget.

Tonight this PC is running OK, if I start AdAware it will turn to molasses.

Seems to me that every program Microsoft dreams up runs way too slow, the competition has better products. I like using the iBook we have, seems to always run fast.

How about a better email program then Outlook Express? I'm still using it.

As far as cleaning out the temp files before doing a scan, I always do that first, but in the "Tools" tab in Firefox. I also have a System Suite program that I can use to clean out all the junk, I use that to defrag.

The Compac computer I usually use is now so slow I'm close to applying the sledge to it. Fortunately I can flip to this one for important tasks like visiting this forum. If I can ever find the time I'm going to review this thread and try to straighten it out.